Science

San Jose City Council May Ban Polystyrene

The San Jose City Council is scheduled to decide this week whether to write an ordinance banning food containers made of polystyrene - commonly known by the trademarked name Styrofoam.

Councilman Sam Liccardo says the discarded food containers have become a major problem for the city.

"We hear from our neighborhoods about the extent of the Styrofoam trash, and since it won’t biodegrade, it remains an unsightly mess," he says. "We hear from our environmental community that the foam is killing wildlife in our creeks and in the bay. And finally we hear from our recycling industry that they can’t recycle this stuff."

Other Bay Area cities have already passed polystyrene prohibitions. But if San Jose successfully passes a ban, it would be the largest city in the nation to do so.

The city is already seeing an impact from a plastic bag ordinance that went into effect about a year ago. A city study shows plastic bag litter in San Jose creeks has decreased by about 60 percent.